29-JAN-2010
Pond at -20
It was a cold day, especially compared to the previous few days. But it was sunny and that made up for a lot. The pond is now frozen over again, the surface covered with ice crystals, except for a large open section under the downed maple. It gives me hope that the beaver may still be there and surviving.
29-JAN-2010
Open water
Here is a closer view of the open section beneath the downed maple.
29-JAN-2010
Rabbit tracks
Although not a lot of snow fell yesterday, there was enough to beautifully show up the animal tracks. Here, a rabbit hopped along the trail from the centre then took a detour over to nibble on some branches of a fallen poplar. I think, but don't know for sure, that a rabbit is using the brushpile behind the centre. One morning early I saw one sitting by the red cedar nibbling branches, and there are piles of rabbit scat all over that area.
29-JAN-2010
Fox tracks
A set of fox tracks crossed the trail, right over the rabbit tracks. Later, I found several more sets of fox tracks.
29-JAN-2010
American crow tracks
Out in the open area, I found a number of crow tracks and quite a few mice tracks as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the crows were hunting mice and voles.
29-JAN-2010
Grey squirrel with manitoba seeds
As I've mentioned before, the Manitoba maple seeds are diminishing rapidly. Here, one lucky grey has found a supply and he was making the most of them.
29-JAN-2010
Cardinal in spruce tree
A great splash of colour on this bright day, was a fine male cardinal perched high up in a spruce on the edge of the Ash woods.
27-JAN-2010
Red squirrel looking pensive
This is yet another red squirrel photo, but they are such a feature of the garden! Even if you don't see them, you hear them. And if you don't hear them, you can see signs of their presence everywhere: nests, chewed branches, sumac cones, walnuts stuffed into crevices and on branches, snow tunnels... Really, they should be our mascot!
27-JAN-2010
Orange jelly
There was a nice cluster of orange jelly on an old spruce stump. You can still find quite a few fungi, particularly these jellies and the polypores, even in winter.
27-JAN-2010
Amphibian Pond
Monday's heavy rain and warm weather (+6) has seen a dramatic opening of the pond. However, it is not open to the bottom, but on top of a skin of ice, and under that skin, the water is moving fast and spilling down the ravine under the bridge, into the Arboretum where the mallards and black ducks are taking advantage of more and deeper water in the stream. You can see how the beaver dam is now exposed again. Further back towards the west end of the pond, it is still frozen, but I wouldn't trust it to hold!
25-JAN-2010
Crabapple in rain
On this rainy, mild, day, the crabapples looked particularly photogenic! With the rain they looked glazed and shiny and just delectable.
25-JAN-2010
Ash Woods
An unusually mild (+6) and rainy (41mm) day for Ottawa in January! Mist covered the landscape and made everything seem mysterious and different. Walking was not much fun as the trails in places were deep in water. The usual birds were around, house finches in good numbers again (30+), cardinals, chickadees, a couple of juncos, and so on. The pond was almost open, and the hole underneath the downed Manitoba maple was open beneath the layer of slushy water.
25-JAN-2010
Old field in mist
Looking south toward Carleton University on a day more spring like than winter like.
21-JAN-2010
Red with sumac cone
And here is the little guy, guarding his sumac cone.
21-JAN-2010
Red squirrel nest in spruce
This is near the Amphibian Pond and is one of two nests constructed close together. Red squirrels will do that, as will greys, and use one or both or neither. There is also a nest box nearby that has long been used by squirrels. The nests are near a large walnut tree overlooking the pond and several generations of squirrels have been occupying this territory. Of course, it may not be generations of the same family! Just as likely that one squirrel dies and another moves in to what would be, in squirrel terms, prime real estate!
21-JAN-2010
Grey squirrel in birch grove
This squirrel was sitting in a birch tree, looking quite thoughtful!
14-JAN-2010
Hoar frost at the garden
The morning of hoar frost turned everything into a winter wonderland. This blue spruce and the Manitoba maple in front, look silvery under the frost
14-JAN-2010
Grey squirrel
This fat little guy was sitting above the Ravine eating the remaining few seeds on that particular Manitoba maple.
14-JAN-2010
Cardinal, male
These beautiful birds are always such a pleasure to see in winter time, adding their own splash of colour to the mostly monochromatic landscape. In addition to this species, there were only the usual birds around, including house finches, chickadees, a few juncos, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, crows, mourning doves, and so on.
14-JAN-2010
New woods and pond
There was a layer of hoarfrost over everything this morning and it was quite beautiful! Difficult to capture that lacy white look, though!
14-JAN-2010
Red osier dogwood
This was photgraphed in the Ash Woods. The remains of the seedheads were coated in ice, as were the red stems.
14-JAN-2010
Dog-strangling vine (Pale swallowwort)
Even our favourite invasive plant looks quite lovely coated in frost. These seedpods are rather elegant when iced over! These dry vines clearly harbour either insect larvae or eggs because chickadees very frequently spend time poking in amongst them and flying off with something minute in their bills.
Barred Owl
Sandy photographed this barred owl on the same day it was seen by several other people. Along with great horned owls, this species is relatively common and often seen, especially in winter. It is largely diurnal, unlike many owls, and often sits in the open in deciduous trees, rather than hiding away in conifers (though it will certainly spend time in those too). We've had a barred owl at the FWG every year for some years, and prior to that there were reports of this species in the Arboretum and on the farm.
12-JAN-2010
European starling with crabapples
This was taken in the Arboretum, but it could easily have been taken at that Fletcher Wildlife Garden, where the starlings were also eating this fruit.
A cooper's hawk was sitting in the Ravine, beneath the Interpretive Centre, this morning. Later it flew to the row of Scotch pines and from there across Prince of Wales Dr. to the farm. Other birds were the usual assortment: chickadees, cardinals, a few juncos, mourning doves, house finches, downy woodpecker, etc.
12-JAN-2010
Red squirrel eating crabapples
This little guy was eating crabapples in a tree near the Ravine. He was one of 5 red squirrels seen at the garden today. One of the others was feeding on the last few Manitoba maple seeds left on a small tree not far away.
Several grey squirrels were eating Manitoba maple seeds on other trees in the garden. The maple keys are fast vanishing, as are the crabapples and sumac seeds. It has been a poor year for conifer cones and the red squirrels haven't been able to store as many as they sometimes do. Times could be tough for these guys, and other birds and animals. Fortunately we have two feeders at the garden which are kept filled all winter long. This helps a lot.
03-JAN-2010
Grey squirrel eating manitoba maple seeds
It was snowing quite hard when I arrived at FWG this afternoon. Very few birds and squirrels were visible. A couple of greys eating manitoba maple seeds, two red squirrels at the BYG feeder and one over by the ash woods.
At the Ash woods feeder, there were a few each of house finches, chickadees, and juncos. A red-tailed hawk was circling the garden for most of the hour that I was there. Initially I saw him flying from the FWG to the Arboretum, but a little while later he was back circling around and around over the pond and the conifers SE of the pond.
03-JAN-2010
Black-capped chickadee
Taken at the feeder in the Backyard Garden. This chickadee appears to be tossing a sunflower seed in the air.
There were five cardinals around this feeder, three females and two males, a female downy woodpecker, six chickadees, one white-breasted nuthatch and two red squirrels. Not much else.
03-JAN-2010
Downy woodpecker, female
At the Backyard Garden feeder.
